End of April: North America downstream news update

Chevron Corp.’s El Segundo refinery has discovered corrosion to an extent similar to that which failed, causing a large fire, at its Richmond refinery.

Tests found up to 60% wall loss in a pipe at the El Segundo refinery. This has now been replaced.

Following the fire, Chevron has now restarted its crude oil unit at the Richmond refinery, which had been closed since August 2012, when the fire broke out.

Illinois, US

According to a filing at the National Response Center, Citgo Petroleum Corp. last week reported a flare gas compressor shutdown at its 167 000 bpd refinery in Lemont, Illinois.

Michigan, US

A fire that had broken out at the Marathon pretroleum refinery in Detroit on the evening of Saturday 27th April was quickly quelled. No details have been released in regards to the possible causes of the fire, however Marathon has announced that air quality monitoring is under way and that the proper state and federal agencies have been notified.

Minnesota, US

Honeywell has announced an agreement to acquire RAE Systems Inc., a fixed and portable gas and radiation detection system manufacturer, for US$ 340 million. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.

Texas, US

A contract worker who was injured in a fire at ExxonMobil’s refinery in south east Texas earlier this month has since died. The deceased was among seven contract workers initially admitted to hospital with burn related injuries. Of these, four remain hospitalised; two are described as being in a critical condition.

Queensland, US

Queensland’s wealthiest man, Clive Palmer, has announced a US$ 1 billion infrastructure upgrade for the Yabulu refinery near Townsville. Palmer has described the investment as a reflection of his confidence in the long term future of Yabulu operations.